


Good At Being Bad

by fallenkings



Series: When the Rotten Meets the Pure [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Adorable Armin Arlert, Alternate Universe - Disney's Descendants, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Attempt at Humor, Jean Kirstein Being An Asshole, Love at First Sight, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-19
Updated: 2016-06-19
Packaged: 2018-07-16 00:17:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7244578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallenkings/pseuds/fallenkings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events of which the first four selected children from the Isle of the Lost had a miraculous change of heart, the people of Auradon feels that it’s time to provide help to more of the villian’s children and give them a chance at a better life and future.</p><p>Jean Kirschtein is one of the fortunate (or unfortunate) ones chosen for this time’s charity act. He both dreads and looks forward to this change — elated at finally leaving the slums but isn’t willing to change for the likes of others.</p><p>However, when he meets a prince from a small kingdom, for the first time ever, his heart begins to race for an entirely different reason and not from the familiar thrills of wrecking havoc.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Good At Being Bad

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired to write this after re-watching Disney's Descendants for three times in a row.
> 
> I feel like the summary is better than the story and it's a little short but I decided to make this a series so the summary kind of applies to the upcoming short stories as well.

Jean leaned against the fence, a small duffel bag in his hand and a scowl on his face. He watched as other teenagers his age loiter around with similar expressions on their faces as they waited. The stench of the streets had pretty much numbed his sense of smell, courtesy of the horrible sewage problem that no one had bothered to fix.

Some parents were with their children, making sure they have everything they needed and discreetly stuffing objects into their hands with matching mischevious grins. Jean caught the eye of Hades’ son who gave him a wicked smile and shook the mysterious pouch in the air as if showing it off. He scoffed.

Jean gave a last look around the familiar streets, seeing as this would be his last time here. He took in the grafiti covered walls and trash filled streets, the rancid smell of the sewage and the bustling noises that filled the suffocating air around them. Jean dreaded having to be sent off to live on Auradon but a part of him was itching to get in the car and get the hell out of here.

Jean had always wanted to leave this slum. Being stuck here all his life had made him quite sick of the place. Though with that being said, the miracle that he would actually be offered to go to Auradon had never once occured to him and he would gladly accept it with a handful of salt. It was better than packing a bag and vanishing off into the Isle of the Doomed which had been his initial plan once he turned eighteen.

A commotion broke out amidst the crowd as they parted to clear a path on the street for similar sleek black cars to drive through. Jean’s scowl deepened as he reluctantly pushed himself away from the fence. Men in crisp black suits and sunglasses exited the car, though the reason for the accessory remains a mystery to Jean. It wasn’t like they needed to block out any sunlight here. They don’t get much — if any — of it in the Isle of the Lost.

It was almost funny to watch as the men tried to fend off the thieving hands from taking apart anything valuable and shiny attached to the car. It took a handful of minutes to get everyone to settle down enough for the men to usher reluctant teens into the ridiculously shiny limousines.

Just as it was almost time for Jean to clamber onto the last car, a hand caught around his bicep and he was jerked backwards.

“Leaving without saying goodbye to your parents? We raised you better than that!”

Jean smirked and swung his fist backwards at the voice but a hand caught his elbow just in time before his fist could connect to a strong jaw.

“Hah! That’s my boy!” Jean was trapped in a suffocating headlock as his father roughly dugged his fist into his head. He broke free after some struggling and straightened his dark clothes.

“Jeanbo! Did you bring everything you need?”

The brunette ducked his head in embarrassment and glanced around quickly to make sure no one had heard his mother’s outburst. Thankfully the majority of the crowd had returned to their attempts at stealing the shiny metal rims on the wheels.

“Yes, ma!” The woman wrapped her arms around him and gave a crushing embrace enough to have snapped his spine in half if Jean was as skinny as the kid standing beside him. “Now let me go!”

“Are you sure you have everything? What about the scarf I stole for you?”

Jean grunted. “Yes, it’s in my bag. I don’t really think I need it anyways.”

His mother clicked her tongue at him and reached up to fix his hair. Or attempted to anyways. “We don’t know what the weather’s like in Auradon.”

“I doubt it’s any damper and colder over there than it is here.” He rolled his eyes and shooed his mother’s fussy hands away from his head. “I have to go now.”

“Do you need anything else?” His father piped up, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “Money?”

Jean smirked. He sneaked a glance at the person passing him by and snatched the ratty old wallet poking out from the stranger’s dirty coat with his quick fingers.

“Nah. I got that covered.”

His father cackled and smacked him on the back. “That’s my boy!”

 

* * *

 

Jean pretended that he wasn’t impressed with what he saw but it was hard to keep his mouth from hanging agape at how big and different Auradon was compared to the Isle of the Lost. There were so many trees and large green landscapes and impressive buildings that were surprisingly not covered in grafiti.

Jean had never seen streets this clean before or breathed air that didn’t smell like something was rotting. He couldn’t stop himself from sticking his head out of the open window and gulping in fresh air like he was lacking oxygen. Most of the kids were doing the same thing so he didn’t have to worry about feeling silly.

The sky appeared more blue here and the sun shone brighter than it did in the Isle of the Lost. Everything seemed so different it was almost magical. It was no wonder why even the daughter of Maleficent wouldn’t want to go back. Jean knew he wouldn’t, as long as he didn’t have to be nice to anyone.

The cars rolled up to Auradon Prep one by one and again Jean was taken aback at how imposing the building itself looked. A band was playing in front of the school’s courtyard as students cheered and welcomed them as though they’ve known each other all their lives. It was a little surreal. They piled out of the cars one at a time and gaped at the change in atmosphere.

People smiled and waved at them instead of glaring or cowering in fear. Their enthusiasm was almost sickening especially when they started singing. Jean questioned how anyone could be so cruel as to put them through this when the headmistress of the school approached them and gave them an over the top welcome that Jean suspected was supposed to be heartwarming or something.

“Here, we will teach you kindness and open up your heart to love, happiness and everything good,” the headmistress practically sung. “We will help you change your ways and move on to a better, brighter future here in Auradon.”

Jean clenched his fists by his side as everyone started filing inside. If anyone here thinks they can change him, they better think again.

The whole ordeal was dreadful, from the very first moment his foot touched the gravel of Auradon to the last second of the tour around the school. Jean all but collapsed onto his bed in his assigned dorm and let out a groan loud enough to have traveled back to the Isle of the Lost.

“Dude. Check out what I got.” Connie’s voice boomed right next to his ear.

Jean shoved Connie’s head away from him and propped himself up on the bed. “What do you want, man? I’m mentally exhausted from all the positive energy around here and I really just want to sleep.”

Connie scoffed and plopped his ass down on the bed. “ _Dude_. Check it.” His friend waved the object in front of his face, and with a groan, Jean snatched it from his hand. “I slipped it from the preppy girl showing us around.”

It was a shiny bracelet with actual diamonds on them. Talk about a school full of loaded prissies.

“Nice.” He appraised and tossed the jewelry into the bottom drawer of his nightstand.

“Hey! That was mine!” Connie reached over to open the drawer but Jean interfered with a kick to his side. The poor victim let out a startled cry as he fell off the bed with a thud.

“Oh my goodness! Are you alright?”

The new voice startled both Jean and Connie, who had been laughing while the latter groaned in pain on the ground.

“Who the heck are you?” rasped the boy with the closely shaven head as he rubbed his sore side.

Connie moved to reclaim his spot on the bed but Jean had kicked him off again before his rear could even touch the satiny soft bed spread. This time the brunette kept his foot planted squarely on the smaller boy’s back to make sure he didn’t get on his bed again, all the while keeping his eyes locked on the intruder by the door.

The blonde boy seemed horrified at how Jean had Connie squashed to the floor with his foot but the fear washed over quickly and the next thing they knew, he was apologizing.

“I’m so sorry for not knocking but the door was ajar and I heard a scream so I decided to check and see if everything’s alright.”

By the Evil Queen’s poisoned apples.

Jean felt his mouth dry up at the beauty before him. Golden tresses, a small upturned nose and big blue eyes all wrapped up in an ugly green sweater. He didn’t even notice Connie struggling under his foot or register the pained sounds he emitted as Jean stepped over him to cross the room.

Jean brought a hand up to cover his face, knowing that a disgraceful shade of red had painted his cheeks upon noticing how tiny the blonde was. His head barely reached Jean’s shoulders and he had to tilt it back to look up at him. The blonde was too adorable for Jean to handle and he looked so — what was that word he was looking for? — _pure_. That’s the word. 

“Um, excuse me. You’re standing really close.” The blonde muttered as he pushed at Jean’s chest with delicate-looking hands.

Jean realized their close proximity and hastily backed away from the male. “I—uh—” He cleared his throat and forced a scowl on his face as he stood to his full height to look intimidating. “Who did you say you were again?”

Blue eyes widened and a pale hand was thrusted in front of him. “Oh! Where are my manners? I’m Armin Arlert of Gewässer.”

Jean shook the offered hand, his intimidating facade falling away, and marveled at how soft the other’s hand was to the touch. “Uh. Jean Kirschtein . . . of the Lost Isle?”

Armin flushed a little and retracted his hand. “Sorry! It was a force of habit to state my kingdom after my name. Please ignore that.”

“Please ignore me as well,” Connie disrupted as he slinked past them towards the door. “Just Connie the Magnificent from the Isle of the Lost, making my leave.”

“Then leave. Silently.” Jean growled between clenched teeth.

Armin watched Connie’s retreating back before turning his big blue eyes back on him. A moment of awkward silence filled the air before Armin cleared his throat.

“Well. I’ll let you settle in now,” said Armin, tucking his golden hair behind his ears.

“Yeah.”

Even as they said it, neither of them moved a muscle. Armin looked at him like he was observing him from head to toe. He looked at Jean as if he was the most interesting person he has ever met rather than a fearsome thug. His blue eyes appraised him like he would be able to discover something extraordinary about Jean just by discriminating him with his eyes.

Somehow that thought alone managed to make a surge of confidence and elation to course through his veins. His heart was beating fast and his palms were disgustingly sweaty all of a sudden. It reminded him of the very first time he had stolen something, a small trinket from _Jaafar’s Junk Shop_ , when he was around ten years old.

It was a strange mixture of adrenaline and fear that Jean wasn’t entirely sure why he was feeling now, in front of the boy he had just met nonetheless that was anything but fearsome. He didn’t want to question it so he shoved that thought inside a chest in his head, locked it up and threw away the key.

As if a spell had been broken, Armin’s eyes shifted away to glance at his feet, suddenly timid like he hadn’t just spent the last few seconds piercing through Jean’s soul with his mesmerizing eyes.

“I should probably go now. Perhaps I’ll see you around sometimes?”

Did Armin seriously just gave him an open invitation to befriend him? Jean didn’t know if he was just being nice or dumb or geniunely interested in making friends.

When Jean didn’t answer, Armin made to leave. In a moment of panic, something seemed to have possesed Jean that made him reach out. “Wait!”

He had successfully captured Armin’s attention which had been his intention but now it felt like a cat’s got his tongue and he was at a loss for words. One look at Armin’s expecting blue eyes gave him a last confidence boost to find his voice.

“Or we can hang out and talk?” He swallowed around the lump forming in his throat when Armin’s lips parted in surprise. “If you want to. I mean — I have a lot of time on my hands right now and we can just, like, get to know each other. Unless, you don’t want to. Which is completely fine. I understand. You have to be cautious around someone like me, right? A rotten child from the Isle of the Lost.”

“No! I would love to hang out!” Armin hastily blurted out. He flushed and regained his calm, gentle composure from before. “But don’t you still have to unpack? I don’t want to be a bother to you.”

Jean laughed, more out of relief than anything that Armin actually wanted to get to know him. “What? No! Just sit down for a bit. I don’t have a lot to unpack so we can talk while I’m at it.”

“Okay.” Armin crossed the ridiculously large dorm room and sat down on one of the desk chairs with his back straight and legs crossed. Jean would laugh if he didn’t look so graceful.

The brunette grabbed his duffel bag and dumped the contents onto his bed, immediately regretting doing so when loads of shiny trinkets and clothes that were too nice to be his tumbled out onto the soft mattress.

“Are these all yours?” Armin asked with fascination laced in his voice.

“Uh. . .”

The blonde let out an excited noise as he rushed to pick up something from the pile of objects. “You own a lamp? Is it a magic lamp?”

Jean let out a sigh that he didn’t know he was holding and plunked down onto the bed. “I’m not really sure. I just took it from some bandits. They were fighting over it so I guess it might be important.”

Armin dropped it like the lamp had suddenly seared his hands. “You _stole_ this from _bandits?_ ” He sounded _horrified_.

“W-what?” Jean sputtered while he hastily stuffed things back into the bag. “No! I just took it when they were preoccupied!”

Armin gaped at him. “You took their belongings without asking! That’s called _stealing_.”

The brunette groaned and waved his hands in the air. “The lamp wasn’t even theirs. I took something that they stole from someone else, so technically it didn’t belong to them.”

“Then why did you keep it?”

“Huh? Why shouldn’t I? I found it.”

“Because it doesn’t belong to you either!” Armin sounded exasperated and placed his hands on his hips. “You should have given it back to the rightful owner!”

Jean stared at Armin in disbelief. “I don’t even know who the lamp belongs to. The bandits stole it from Jaafar who most likely stole it from someone else so how would I know where it originated from even if I want to return it? Which I don’t.”

Armin opened his mouth to argue only to clamp a hand over it. He still looked scandalized. “How many times can a single lamp be stolen?! This is ridiculous!”

Jean ran a hand down his face, groaning. “Welcome to my world.”

It was silent in the room before Armin gingerly picked up an orange scarf from the pile. “ _Please_ tell me you didn’t steal this pretty scarf too.”

“First of all, that scarf is no where near pretty. _It’s hideous_. And secondly, no, I didn’t steal it.” Armin’s shoulders slumped in relief and the sides of Jean’s lips quirked into a mischevious smirk. “My mom did.”

“ _Oh my god_.”

Maybe coming to Auradon wasn’t such a bad thing after all, if everyone here was as ignorantly pure as Armin. But that didn’t mean Jean was ready to give up his mischevious ways. Nope, he had a lot in stored for this place and boy, was Auradon in for a big mess.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm absolutely terrible at coming up with names. Armin's kingdom literally translates to 'body of water' in German.
> 
> Fun fact: The name of Hades' son is Hadie as mentioned in one of the Descendants' novels.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
